


Birdwatching

by SnakeWrangler4



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Other, Spoilers, im bad at tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 15:36:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21101837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnakeWrangler4/pseuds/SnakeWrangler4
Summary: After the events of Amnesty, Thacker talks to his new friend as he catalogues new species that have crossed over to Sylvain.





	Birdwatching

“Golly, would ya look at that! I think that’s a new species!” a rather haggard man calls out, passing a pair of binoculars to his companion. They take the binoculars and look through it, spotting a strikingly large bird clinging to the trunk of a tree, its vibrant red crest standing out amongst the early summer greens of the forest. 

The companion lowers their binoculars. They have on odd, skipping cadence to their speech - like a faulty record player or scratched music CD - but the man has no trouble understanding. “I th-think you are correct. Do you know wh-what it is c-called, Thacker?” 

The haggard man scratches his bushy beard as he muses. “Why, I believe that’s a pileated woodpecker! You can tell by its hefty crest there. Huge bugger, innit? Love them guys.” Thacker sits up from his prone position, satisfied with the spotting of the woodpecker. He groans as he stretches, arching his back and noting with annoyance how stiff it is. He makes a mental note to spend more time on his less sedentary hobbies - it’s been a while since he last hiked.

His companion mirrors his motions, noises included, and grabs a bag of Thacker’s patented gorp to idly munch. Thacker would be annoyed at anyone else mimicking him, thinking they were making fun of his climbing age, but he knows his companion has no such intentions. They’re just learning… Learning people, was the way he put it. 

“Say, Q, you think that woodpecker will become its own kind of Sylvan at some point? That’d be a riot! The folks here might need to get some extra insurance for their wood houses, what with some big ol’ bird dudes runnin’ around, eh!” The outdoorsman lets out a hearty guffaw at his own joke, but just as quickly shifts to serious, beard-stroking contemplation at the prospect. “...Does Sylvain even have insurance? Hrmm…”

His companion just tilts their head in curiosity, understanding perhaps 10% of the joke but enjoying observing Thacker’s mannerisms all the same. They absentmindedly consume more handfuls of gorp (which Thacker delights in; they’re the only one so far who hasn’t found it absolutely abhorrent) until a question comes to their mind. “Thacker, why w-will you not c-call me Quell?”

The simple question stops Thacker in his tracks. He furrows his brow as he considers his answer. “Well… I ‘unno, actually. Jus’ sounds more like a name than ‘Quell’, you know? Yer sister got ‘Sylvain’, so I thought it was unfair that your name was… You know, a noun.” Thacker frowns slightly. “Why, do you not like it?”

The Quell tilts their head the other way. “I am merely curious if there w-was something wrong with my name. Is y-your name not a noun as well, Thacker?” They pause to think momentarily, remaining motionless, a computer accessing its memory bank. “I believe it comes from ‘Thatcher’, s-someone who thatches roofs.”

Thacker sits in short-lived silence before laughing heartily and slapping a knee. “Ya got me there! So, Quell, anything else ya wanna do here? I’ve got some other spots in mind to look for critters if yer up for it.”

The Quell smiles faintly and shakes their head. “You m-may call me ‘Q’ if it w-would please you, Thacker. It is… nice.” Q nods, having contented themselves with the affirmation.

Thacker stands up and returns the smile, cricking his neck. “Well, Q, I’ve got a grove of trees I’ve half a mind to check out. I got this feeling - I bet all sorts of lil’ fellas crept through the portal, took up livin’ there, and are just BEGGING to be documented! Ain’t that excitin’!” He extends a hand to Q, who takes it graciously and stands up beside him, brushing stray leaves off of their shirt.

They answer in turn, “Indeed it is.”

The walk to the grove is largely dominated by Thacker’s booming voice, not caring in the moment that he is likely scaring off the very animals he is trying to document. He is content to walk through the Sylvan woods with Q, regaling them with stories ranging from his youth to his misadventures with Mama. 

Thacker shifts the topic of his musings. “What if it’s more than animals that slipped through? Think any, I dunno, seeds or whatnot came over as well?” His eyes light up as he considers new possibilities. “Ooh, ooh, what if the magic altered them too! What if we got like… A pudding tree or somethin’! Wouldn’t that be wild!”

A noise reaches Thacker’s ears that catches him off guard. He stops walking suddenly. It sounded like…

A laugh? _ I’ll be damned _ , Thacker thinks to himself. _ They can laugh after all. _

He sees Q smiling and snaps himself back. “What’s so funny? Ain’t seen you really laugh before, not even at all my great jokes!”

Q just continues smiling, stopping as well so as to not leave Thacker behind. “I just r-regret to i-inform you that… Aubrey Little has a-already created and d-documented such a tree.”

Thacker scratches his head as he processes this information before shrugging and resuming the trek. “Well, son of a gun. Guess we’ll just have to find somethin’ else before she does, eh, Q?”

Renewing their pace to keep up with Thacker, Q nods in contentment. “It s-seems so, Thacker. It seems so.” The two continue on, both happily fulfilling their insatiable curiosity for the world around them. They still have much to see - and nothing could make them happier.

“...Say, pass me the gorp, would you? Been cravin’ pepperoni somethin’ fierce lately.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have much to say I just really love Thacker and the Quell and wanted more of them hangin out


End file.
